Japanese art of putting house in order

Forget everything you knew about cleaning. Marie Kondo, a specialist in restoring order from Japan, who has become famous throughout the world, has developed methods for organizing household life and cleaning that will transform any mess into a perfectly arranged space. She described her methods in the book “The Magic Cleaning. The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing”, which has gained incredible popularity in many countries.

Here are 10 basic and effective ways to get rid of trash forever. Marie Kondo argues that if you learn to follow these methods, you do not have to endlessly clean up.

1. Do everything at once and now.
If you heard the advice that you need to clean up for 15 minutes every day and get rid of one thing a day, forget about it. You need to set aside time and take on everything at once and as soon as possible.

2. First throw away the unnecessary, then sort and clean.
Do not postpone any things until later, until you throw away all unnecessary.As soon as you think: "I wonder if this thing will fit on this shelf" the cleaning process will come to a standstill. Start thinking about where to put things after you’ve finished getting rid of everything you don’t need.

3. Start easy
It is not necessary to sort through albums with old photos or letters. They are the hardest to throw away. Only if you are not a fashion expert and clothes are not your passion, you need to start with your wardrobe, then go to books, papers, various items (for example, kitchen utensils) and only then to things that have emotional value.

4. Grasp categories, not rooms.
The first rule of cleaning is to deal with all things of the same category at once, otherwise they will move from room to room, and the mess will never end.
If you are dismantling clothes, find all the clothes in the whole house. When Marie Kondo works with clients, she warns them that everything that is not collected will go to the trash. Tell yourself the same thing, and you will find everything that is valuable to you. Everything else is probably not so important to you.

5. Throw away all that you do not like
If you want to achieve true purity, you need to think about the things that you throw away. Do not do this thoughtlessly: hold the thing in your hands and think about how important it is to you. Kondo declares that if a thing brings you joy, you will feel it. If not, it is time to part with it.

6. Get rid of paper.
Although it can be difficult, all your papers should fit in one place and are divided into two categories: papers or documents that need to be saved, and papers with which you are dealing.
How often do you refer to electrical appliance manuals? Most likely never. If you need to learn something, most of the information can now be found on the net. Get rid of old accounts and statements and other papers. You need to keep contracts, personal documents and insurance policies. Store paper in a straight stand to prevent the stack from becoming too large.

7. Let go with love (gifts and souvenirs)
Kondo recommends mentally thanking the person who gave you the item (which you do not use and that you do not need), and give it to charity.Keep old love letters? Ask yourself why you keep them: do they bring you joy or are you trying to hold on to some part of your life? If they are really dear to you, leave them; if not, let them go with love.

8. Do not buy expensive and complicated storage devices.
Kondo has tried many storage devices and claims that the only useful item is a shoe box.
Our need for storage comes from too many things. But as soon as you put them in another beautiful box, you forget about them, and just add another thing to the house. Shoe boxes can be used for drawers to store neatly folded tights, and in a kitchen cupboard for storing trays and pans vertically, rather than being heaped together.

9. Learn to fold and store upright.
Most of the things, with the exception of coats, trousers, dresses and suits, are better stored in the folded state than on a hanger, and properly folded things take up much less space. Depending on the thickness of the clothes, you can place 20-40 items of clothing in the same space where 10 things used to hang.
When you store folded items, do not squeeze them into a pile.Let them breathe, it will allow you to find and use them more easily. Shoe boxes can be used to separate garments.

10. Treat Things Like People
Learn to conduct a "dialogue" with things, it will help you to feel when it's time to say goodbye to them. Taking care of your property is the best way to make sure that they will serve their owner as long as possible.